Above all, recreation directors want the kids to have fun

Editor's note: Youth sports should be fun, right? Unfortunately, that's not always the case. In a six-part "Youth Sports Spotlight" series, Bill Wells writes about whether there is indeed enough fun in youth sports these days.

Part IV: Local recreation directors discuss the topic:

Four local recreation directions offered some good news: They feel, in general, there is enough fun in youth sports.

Phew.

"I think, for the most part, coaches and parents have a good perspective," South Hadley Recreation Director Andy Rogers said. "Obviously, you're going to find people who have different feelings about what it should be all about.

"Especially in the younger age groups, the K-4, people want their kids to have a good time and the coaches do a good job, and the kids generally have a smile on their faces. I think when they get a little older, in the middle school age group, I think the fun gets lost a little bit there because people are jockeying for high school positions."

Northampton Recreation Director Ann-Marie Moggio agreed, although keeping the fun in youth sports needed to be re-addressed not too long ago.

"There's been an emphasis on making youth sports fun in the last few years because it did seem to be getting too serious," Moggio said. "It did seem parents were interfering a lot, in general, in what was going on in youth sports. And it was big in the news, too, such as parents going after players or officials.

"As a recreation director, we've been aware of that, and took the approach of what can we do to turn it back to the emphasis being fun and you don't always have to win."

Holyoke Recreation Supervisor Peter Leclerc said he offers training and workshops to coaches so "they can bring a positive experience to the kids. Knowing a sport and coaching are completely different. Unfortunately we spend 90 percent of the time talking about the 10 percent of the people who don't make sports fun. The majority of the people are having fun, and are giving a positive experience to the kids. We want to make sure we can limit the number of people who are bringing a negative aspect. That's one of my goals."

One of the goals in Amherst is to de-emphasize winning. In its youth basketball programs, score is not kept at the first-second and third-fourth grade levels. At the fifth-sixth grade level, if a game is lop-sided, the score is taken down.

"It's more well-received by the kids," Amherst Sports and Recreation Director Mark Miville said. "The best part of the game is when they do score because (the games are) so low scoring. The mini-celebrations that happen when they do score: it's like scoring a goal in a soccer match.

"It's funny, you walk around the gym and I think the parents are the only ones keeping score in their heads, and the kids really aren't. The coaches appreciate it."

Amherst also offers pick-up baseball. There aren't any umpires, uniforms, or parent involvement.

"The kids, on their own, are playing baseball," Miville said. "We bring the balls and the bats."

In South Hadley, Rogers said his most popular program, in terms of sheer fun, is the high school basketball league.

"That is the most fun thing we run," he said. "The kids have such a great time. There's zero pressure on them. They've all decided they're not high school basketball players, and they're out there because they love the sport, they love the comradery, and they have a great time. It goes back to when they were younger, when they played just for the love of the sport. There's no pressure."

Leclerc and Moggio both said meeting with the coaches or directors prior to the season is a must.

"We start with the directors," Leclerc said. "We make sure they're aligned with the goals of park and recreation, at any level of those sports."

"It's a way for us to meet the coaches and put them through the training and show them that the emphasis is for the goal to be fun," Moggio said.

Rogers recently heard an interview with current Louisville men's basketball coach and former Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino. He's going to distribute a certain quote to his youth coaches:

"Pitino said whenever he's in the huddle and he's positive, something good happens. He said that's when guys hit game-winning shots and execute plays. And he said whenever he's negative in the huddle, that's when things go to hell.

"I'm going to include this in my coach's packet. This is a person who's obviously well-respected. And even at the college Division I level and the NBA, when you're positive and have an upbeat interaction with the team, you're going to find better results."

NEXT WEEK: Professor Robert Rausch, who teaches a Children in Competitive Sports class at Westfield State College.